Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Independence Hall, originally known as the Pennsylvania State House, was the meeting place of the Continental Congress leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence here on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Independence Hall,...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has more than 200,000 items from thousands of years on display, including hundreds of paintings from the masters.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
The Philadelphia Museum...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Betsy Ross House is a small colonial museum that includes a re-creation of the American flag-maker's upholstery shop in the front in Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Betsy Ross House is a...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
The Thomas Bond House, a bed-and-breakfast inn on Second Street in the Old City section of Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
The Thomas Bond House,...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
The assembly room at Indepedence Hall is set up with 13 tables for the 13 colonies, as it may have been in 1776 at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
The assembly room at...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
A casting of Auguste Rodin's most famous sculpture, "The Thinker," welcomes guests to the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
A casting of Auguste...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Trolleys like this one and double-decker buses give Philadelphia visitors the chance to hop on and off and get some anecdotal history as well.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Trolleys like this one...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
"The Gates of Hell" by Auguste Rodin at the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, Pa.

Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
"The Gates of Hell" by...

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Ronald Shapiro / Special to the Times Union
Elfred's Alley, a block-long row of attached houses, may be the nation's oldest continually inhabited residential area.

While my partner and I have traveled across this great nation, for some reason we've never spent any quality time in the City of Brotherly Love ... oh, a stopover at the airport or train station, but never a meaningful visit to the cradle of American civilization.

To us, this seemed a major gap. In the month before the great all-nation celebration of Independence Day, spending some time in the shadows of Founding Fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and James Monroe seemed a compelling draw. Not to mention that the city itself has a reputation as a colorful, quirky, metropolitan enclave with plenty of widely varied cultural pursuits.

There was just one problem: We had only four days.

This we overcame with the talents of a master planner, my partner, who managed to research everything — everything! — months ahead of time, with the help of a AAA guidebook and a gargantuan amount of time on the Internet. We're talking not only the major sites of patriotic fervor, but lodging, transportation, hours, accessibility and even restaurants. For our purposes, and our limited time, we decided to focus on the major historical sites, the impressive visual arts institutions, and, of course, the city's diverse and superb culinary offerings. The result was a fast-paced if wide-ranging overview of just a limited view of the city. To do it justice, and explore some of its wealth of, say, musical, dramatic, athletic, zoological and multi-ethnic offerings, would require repeated stays.

So with plenty of annotated notecards, and our good friend the history professor in tow, we embarked on the four-day adventure.

Day 1

We began our first day with a trip from the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station, which turned out to be a good move. The ride itself was uneventful, affording us a good view of the backyards of just about every town, village and city through upstate New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania we encountered. We arrived in early afternoon at Philly's, marble-clad 30th Street Station, and decided it was time for a little lunch. Fortunately, we happened on the Bridgewater's Pub, a hole-in-the-wall right in the train station, and greatly enjoyed its fine craft beers and hearty sandwiches.

From there, it was a bumpy cab ride to our destination, the Thomas Bond House, a bed-and-breakfast inn housed in a 1769 brick Georgian Revival home, built by the revered Dr. Bond right on South Second Street in the Old City section. It, too, was a major winner, nicely appointed with a supremely accommodating staff and breakfasts way beyond the usual "continental," with coconut macaroons, bagels, breads of many descriptions, fine fruit salad, homemade granola, even hard-boiled eggs. (But watch those stairs; no elevator.)

Right next door is Welcome Park, a small open area presided over by a statue of William Penn (founder of the city, and, well, the colony of Pennsylvania), with black and white blocks mapping out the ancient streets of the old town.

Because Philadelphia is a major metropolitan area, there are a wide variety of lodging possibilities, from cut-rate chains to quirky boutique hotels to major four-star accommodations. But we were happy to be where we were, in the midst of the historic distric While the area may be "Old City," there's scarcely anything creaky about the neighborhood: Less than half a block away starts a wild conglomeration of pubs and dive bars, fine restaurants, nightclubs, nail salons, tattoo parlors, little bodegas and boutiques, which extends for several blocks along the Market Street corridor. On the day we arrived, we just missed a massive Gay Pride parade, which made the streets lively and extremely colorful, but in the days ahead the area settled into pretty moderate cityscape, with a mix of tourists, workers heading to the office, strollers and the ever-present runner-joggers.

By the time we settled in, it was later in the afternoon, but we plunged straight ahead to the Independence National Historical Park, a federal area that includes some 20 buildings associated with the Colonial period and the founding of our nation. After doing a bit of advance reconnaissance on tickets and the like, we headed for Destination One: The Liberty Bell. The national symbol is located in a free-standing pavilion of its own, and no tickets are necessary. Therefore, the line can look a bit daunting at times; but it moves fast, and the mostly forgettable verbiage and artifacts are minimal, leading to the big bell itself and what now must be the "selfie" capital of the city.

For dinner, we opted for Farmicia, a new-style farm-to-table restaurant recommended by a Philly native. We greatly enjoyed the nicely sauteed St. Peter's fish and tender pork loin, not to mention the friendly young staff. We retired early, to get ready for the marathon ahead.

Day 2

For our first full day in the city, we decided to head directly for paydirt: Independence Hall, right in the middle of the historical park. It was here that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776; moreover, it was the home to the Articles of Confederation (America's first major agreement of governance) and the Constitution. It was here that George Washington became commander in chief of the Continental armies. The hall has reasonably tight security, and tickets must be picked up on the day of your visit at the nearby Independence Visitor Center.

We arrived at the hall before time for our visit, so we took a detour to a really unknown treat: "Dream Garden," a giant mosaic mural in the ground floor of the Curtis (publishing) Center, designed by Maxfield Parrish and executed by the Louis Comfort Tiffany studios in hundreds of thousands of tiny glass squares in 1916. The cumulative effect was magnificent, but disappointing because of the shoddy, ancient spotlight system hid much of its glory.

Back at Independence Hall, we relaxed in the historic park awaiting our tour. Only about 60 visitors are allowed on each half-hour shift. The National Park Service guide proved not only animated but a dynamic speaker, and he provided plenty of insight into the building and its significance. The assembly room of the Continental Congress has been carefully restored, set up as it may have been in the 1775-87 era, with 13 tables representing the 13 colonies, and I have to admit: Even a jaded journalist got a bit of a chill in the presence of such history, in the shadows of Franklin, Jefferson and Washington.

After the tour, we took in the "Liberty 360" show at the nearby PECO theater. The 15-minute 3-D surround-movie was narrated by none other than (who else?) Benjamin Franklin. While it tried to be educational about our nation's symbols t was nothing I hadn't heard before, andit was a bit cheesy. But there was a nice twist at the end (no spoilers here!).

Keeping in the history trail mode, we trekked a few blocks over to the Betsy Ross House. A costumed guide emulating Betsy herself kicked off the tour of her colonial home, where she may (or may not) have actually created the first version of the American flag in 1777.The house was typical of the era, three stories with plenty of up-and-down narrow staircases and a re-creation of what may have been Ross' upholstery shop.

By then it was time for a late lunch, so we trundled to the nearby Race Street Cafe, a woodsy, welcoming space that served fine shrimp quesadillas and a hearty turkey burger with good craft beers. Might consider taking this lunch stop out, just because it seems less than notable

While nearby, we stopped for a look at Elfreth's Alley, a picture-perfect little street that is said to be the country's oldest continually inhabited residential area, carefully tended with floral displays in front of most of the narrow, tall, connected homes.

We opted for dinner at Cuba Libre, a real find also recommended by a Philly native. The restaurant had the feel of a trip to Havana, with a soaring central space, dominated by churning fans and weathered stucco. The food was spot-on, from the fresh mojito to the mango-flavored shrimp to the arroz con pollo and vegetarian paella.

Day 3

The next day was the start of the culture vulture part of our tour, and to facilitate it, we got tickets for the Super Bus system, which at $30 for two days allowed us to hop on and off both double-decker buses and trolleys across a great swath of the cityfor our multiple museum stops. The rides turned out to be educational, too, with lively anecdotes and historical tidbits offered by the guides on the various vehicles.

Our first stop was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a formidable institution indeed, with more than 200,000 objects on display, including thousands of years of decorative items, masterpieces of painting and furniture. The place is huge, and trust me, follow the map. We didn't, and wound up bouncing among the dozens of rooms, picking up a huge dose of impressionists (a Cezanne here, a Monet there, Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse ...) along with a chunk of Philadelphia furniture and modern art, full rooms transported from France and New York.

After, we hopped on a shuttle bus to the museum's nearby Perelman Building annex, which despite having two major galleries closed for upcoming exhibits, offered plenty to see in a kind of double show called "Runway of Love," a fashion tribute to the works of Patrick Kelly, a flamboyant black designer from Mississippi who took Paris by storm in the '60s and '70s. Some 80 of his ensembles are on display, many of them featuring colorful, wacky displays of buttons, large bows, rows of dice and even an Eiffel Tower hat.

By the way, for those who wonder, the statue of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is not atop the formidable art museum stairs he memorably mounted in the movie "Rocky" long ago. The statue is now tucked away to the side of the museum, but it's still probably the second-most-popular "selfie" spot in the city.

For dinner, we headed just up South Second Street again, to the Plough and the Stars, an Irish-themed middle-road spot with a quite respectable beer list and better than average Guinness pie, pork tenderloins and quite impressive seafood chowder and tomato-bleu cheese soups.

Day 4

Here's where it gets tricky, and this is the part where I tell you: Don't try this from home. Truth is, four major museums is just too many for two days.

We started out easy, hopping the trolley to get the Rodin Museum, which actually is pretty accessible. The sculptor probably best known for "The Thinker" (a version of which is out front), is honored with a little gem, a carefully marble-laden edifice with manicured gardens and pools, many studies of his works, some impressive castings and, most spectacular, his complicated "Gates of Hell."

Just a short walk away is the Barnes Foundation, another museum that deserves a full day on its own. Luckily, we had been warned to buy our tickets online before arriving, because the place was packed. The collection itself is astonishing: more first-rank French impressionists than one could image in one space, not to mention American pottery, decorative furniture, ceramics and the like.

What makes the Barnes unique is the artwork is displayed in this new building exactly as millionaire collector Albert Barnes had shown them in his own gallery in the Philadelphia suburbs, wall for wall, piece by piece, including his strange propensity to mount odd pieces of metalwork (hooks, keys, wires, tools) between and above say, a collection of Renoirs, maybe mixed with a Seurrat, a Degas, a Modigliani, a Picasso, a Monet or Manet. Weird. But the place is huge and complicated, and needs a lot of time

Properly muddled, we opted for late lunch at McGillin's Olde Ale House, a pub just around the corner from City Hall, which has been in business since 1860, making it the city's oldest continually operating tavern. Not much to look at, it's pretty much a standard colonial tavern, with a modern bar menu. But it did offer up a remarkable rare roast beef sandwich and a reasonable version of the famous cheese steak sandwich (the first we'd had a chance to try), not too dry and with plenty of cheese, onions and peppers. Then we opted for one little bit of weirdness, just across from City Hall: We took a tour of the Masonic Temple. In a half hour, we visited no fewer than seven giant, ornate meeting rooms, all similar but each featuring a distinct architectural style: Corinthian, Norman, Italian Renaissance, Egyptian ... all gathered together with plush waiting rooms, ornate chandeliers, stained glass and thick carpets. Well.

Eventually, we took the double-decker back to the Thomas Bond House, and relaxed before dinner.

With our friend the American history professor along, there was no choice but where to go for the last repast: The City Tavern, as it happens just down the street from our lodgings. Many a Founding Father dined in the original bar at this site, and the current re-creation tries to hark back to its roots, right down Colonial-style woodwork to the servers in period garb.

It's a pleasant place where one could easily imagine the shadows of the Founding Fathers. So we dined on turkey pot pie (Franklin's favorite, we're told), with ale from Washington's own recipe, polished off with Martha Washington's chocolate mousse cake.